UTA Sets New Leadership Structure For Filmed Entertainment Division Under President Matt Rice

UTA on Thursday announced a comprehensive reorganization of its Filmed Entertainment Division, elevating Matt Rice to serve as its President.

A longtime partner at the agency who most recently served as head of its TV department, Rice is known for his work with top writer, producer, director, talent and comedy clients like Phil Lord & Chris Miller, Mike Schur, Alec Berg, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, among others.

“Matt is a phenomenal agent and partner who has helped spearhead a transformative expansion of UTA’s television division. In his expanded role, he will lead overall strategy and execution across all areas of Filmed Entertainment,” said CEO David Kramer in an internal memo to staff this morning.

In addition to Rice’s role, UTA has announced the promotion of Allan Haldeman, Blair Kohan, Jay Gassner and Julien Thuan to Managing Partners of Filmed Entertainment. Amanda Hymson and Jordan Lonner are now heads of Motion Picture Literary, with Lucinda Moorhead and Mickey Berman heading up TV Lit, and Hanley Baxter and John Sacks joining the incumbent Mike Jelline to head up the Talent department.

Additionally, UTA today announced the formation of a Filmed Entertainment board, consisting of senior partners who, per Kramer, “will leverage their collective expertise, experience and deep industry relationships to aggressively pursue client development and new initiatives.”

Board members include Mickey Berman, Jason Burns, Marissa Devins, Dan Erlij, Chris Hart, Jason Heyman, Mike Jelline, Keya Khayatian, Rich Klubeck, Billy Lazarus, Gregory McKnight, Lucinda Moorhead, David Park, Theresa Peters, Shani Rosenzweig, and Larry Salz.

Kramer emphasized, in his memo to staff, that the reorg is intended to “increase efficiency and collaboration,” thereby maximizing client opportunities and sharpening “the agency’s competitive edge” amidst a rapidly evolving entertainment landscape.

Kramer said that “UTA has never been a place that waits for change,” calling the new leadership structure “streamlined” and “future-focused.”

He went on to say, “We’ve had an extraordinary year, with UTA clients behind some of 2026’s biggest box office hits and most acclaimed television productions, earning top honors at the Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes and Tonys. We are building from a position of immense strength, and this new leadership structure is designed to carry that momentum forward and position us for even greater success.”

Kramer’s assessment echos comments he made about the agency’s “record-breaking year,” “strength” and “momentum” in an Aug. 26 memo, in which he hit back at a Variety article about recent UTA client departures, which alleged internal anxiety, accusing the author of unprofessional bias. (Variety‘s parent company, Penske Media Corporation, also owns Deadline.)

Read the full memo below:

UTA has never been a place that waits for change — we anticipate where the industry is going and build for what comes next. With that in mind, we are announcing a streamlined, future-focused leadership structure for our Filmed Entertainment group which reflects the evolving business of film and television and will enable us to maximize opportunities for clients. By bringing together partners across Motion Picture Literary, Television Literary and Talent, we will continue to deliver unrivaled seamless client representation, sharpen the agency’s competitive edge and increase efficiency and collaboration.
I’m thrilled to announce that Matt Rice has been elevated to President of Filmed Entertainment. Matt is a phenomenal agent and partner who has helped spearhead a transformative expansion of UTA’s television division. In his expanded role, he will lead overall strategy and execution across all areas of Filmed Entertainment.

To support Matt and drive leadership across the entirety of the Filmed Entertainment group, we have elevated Allan Haldeman, Blair Kohan, Jay Gassner and Julien Thuan to the role of Managing Partner of Filmed Entertainment. This newly established leadership group will be critical to driving growth, connecting opportunities across our business and delivering exceptional results for clients as film and TV increasingly converge.

To further capture market momentum and maximize client opportunities we have also established a Filmed Entertainment board. These senior partnerswill leverage their collective expertise, experience and deep industry relationships to aggressively pursue client development and new initiatives. Board members will include Mickey Berman, Jason Burns, Marissa Devins, Dan Erlij, Chris Hart, Jason Heyman, Mike Jelline, Keya Khayatian, Rich Klubeck, Billy Lazarus, Gregory McKnight, Lucinda Moorhead, David Park, Theresa Peters, Shani Rosenzweig, and Larry Salz.

All of our Filmed Entertainment Department Heads play an integral part in ensuring our teams operate at the highest level in service of our clients. As we move to this new chapter, we are excited to appoint several new Department Heads across Filmed Entertainment: Amanda Hymson and Jordan Lonner (Motion Picture Literary); Lucinda Moorhead and
Mickey Berman (TV Literary); Hanley Baxter and John Sacks (Talent, alongside incumbent department head Mike Jelline). These agents have distinguished themselves through exceptional client representation and will be responsible for furthering the growth of their respective businesses.

We’ve had an extraordinary year, with UTA clients behind some of 2026’s biggest box office hits and most acclaimed television productions, earning top honors at the Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes and Tonys. We are building from a position of immense strength, and this new leadership structure is designed to carry that momentum forward and position us for even greater success.

Please join me in congratulating our new leadership for Filmed Entertainment. We have so much to be proud of and I can’t wait to see this team take us to new heights in the coming year.

David